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Anyone on the Ascend Plus trial?

Mrs Redboots said:
I got so fed up of having to wake up at 06:30 to take my tablet that last night I did a bit of research on-line and discovered several peer-reviewed papers that say that levothyroxin works just as well if you take it at bedtime! So guess what I plan to do from tomorrow (I had to take eyedrops today - had a cataract removed last week - so didn't bother changing it for today)! So I can go back to waking at 07:00, taking the semaglutide then, and waiting the usual half an hour for my cup of tea!
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That's really good ! Can you let me know if you feel any difference taking it at night please it would be so much easier doing it that way x
 
klr said:
That's really good ! Can you let me know if you feel any difference taking it at night please it would be so much easier doing it that way x
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They do say that it ought to be taken at least 2 hours after eating, so if you're in the habit of a bedtime snack (I very seldom have one), it might not work. I'm on such a tiny dose, though, that I can't see it makes much difference - and one friend, who didn't know about the 30-minute restriction, was in the habit of taking hers with her morning coffee, and her doctors don't seem to have noticed...
 
Morning, I am having the usual side effects and trying to manage them but wondered if anyone else is struggling with sleep issues. I am going to bed between 10.30and 11pm usually and can get to sleep. However, I am waking up between 3 and 4 am most nights and really struggle to go back to sleep. I don’t eat after 7pm and wonder if it is anything to do with low blood sugars overnight now I am on the trial drug. I also take metformin and jardience. I don’t have a tester for checking as diabetic nurse felt it was not needed.
 
Good afternoon. I wonder if you could answer a few questions? I have been chosen to take place in the trial and waiting for a response. If I am suitable, and I decide to go ahead, how does the scheme work? Are you sent the medication through the post or is it a prescription? TIA
 
You are sent it through the post.
 
Jibba Jabba said:
Good afternoon. I wonder if you could answer a few questions? I have been chosen to take place in the trial and waiting for a response. If I am suitable, and I decide to go ahead, how does the scheme work? Are you sent the medication through the post or is it a prescription? TIA
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Medication is sent through the post
 
Sally66 said:
Just thought aid start a discussion here for anyone on the Ascend Plus trial by Oxford University.

Started my “Run In” phase yesterday and so far so good. No side affects other than fatigue. How are other folks doing?
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Hi i am into my 4th month on the trail i suffered from shakes to start with and now i get the hiccups. I gave reduced my diabetes tablets and to top it off i gave lost 19lb. Keep at it
 
PaulineHarrington said:
Morning, I am having the usual side effects and trying to manage them but wondered if anyone else is struggling with sleep issues. I am going to bed between 10.30and 11pm usually and can get to sleep. However, I am waking up between 3 and 4 am most nights and really struggle to go back to sleep. I don’t eat after 7pm and wonder if it is anything to do with low blood sugars overnight now I am on the trial drug. I also take metformin and jardience. I don’t have a tester for checking as diabetic nurse felt it was not needed.
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Hi yes I am on the second month of 14mg or placebo and I am going to bed similar time as you . On most nights I now wake at 3am virtually on the dot ,don't know why I never did before. It isn't every night but most. However I can go back to sleep but it takes a while.
 
Same here sleep pattern shot to pieces. Only on 2nd lot of 2mg . I just read or listen to podcasts. Talking books are good too. Some podcasts are sleep sounds ie rainfall ,sea waves etc. which I find soothing. Good luck in getting some sleep.
 
I have withdrawn from the trial this week as it has become blindingly obvious that I was on the placebo. My BG kept going up over the last few weeks, so after giving it a go for 7 weeks I am off the trial. I phoned them up to withdraw and have agreed to still do the questionaires until the end of the trial.I was really grateful for the opportunity to try Rybelsus, and it did a lot for my BG numbers, so I am seeing the practitioner next week to see if the GP practice will prescribe it for me now I have withdrawn. I am disappointed in a way, but feel pretty positive that I found out that I could tolerate the 3 and 7mg well and it did a lot to bring down the BG levels fairly quickly. I am hopeful that I may get a prescription to continue as my BG was very high to start with and still pretty high as of the last HbA1c test in September. I was totally unable to tolerate Metformin so that is not an option for me.
 
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Good luck for the future, please will you put on the thread if you are successful with the doctor getting them to prescribe you the real thing as it would be interesting for other people who think they are on the placebo. I personally am positive I'm on the real thing 14mg as my weight continues to fall about 2lb a week and the belching in the mornings if quite awful also my bs in normal every time I do a test about.
 
Started on the random tablets 9 days ago after 12 weeks of the lower doses with no side effects whatsoever. For no other reason than the horrible taste is no longer present when I take the random tablet I presume I’m on the placebo. For those that are convinced you are on the placebo, how long did it take for your appetite to return as mine hasn’t returned yet?
 
Mancman62 said:
Started on the random tablets 9 days ago after 12 weeks of the lower doses with no side effects whatsoever. For no other reason than the horrible taste is no longer present when I take the random tablet I presume I’m on the placebo. For those that are convinced you are on the placebo, how long did it take for your appetite to return as mine hasn’t returned yet?
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I was very unsure about whether I was on the placebo or not as I am doing a keto/very low carb diet, so I don't really feel much hunger anyway, and I had no real side effects to speak of from the real stuff. The giveaway in the end was the blood sugar creeping up, and after a couple of weeks less feelings of fullness and then being able to eat more. I log calories and noticed that they were creeping upwards week by week too. When on the 7mg I ate around 3-400 less calories a day due to smaller protion size. After 7 weeks it became really obvious that the blood sugar was going in the wrong direction.
 
RAD123 said:
Good luck for the future, please will you put on the thread if you are successful with the doctor getting them to prescribe you the real thing as it would be interesting for other people who think they are on the placebo. I personally am positive I'm on the real thing 14mg as my weight continues to fall about 2lb a week and the belching in the mornings if quite awful also my bs in normal every time I do a test about.
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I am back from the GP practice, and they have put me on the Rybelsus, so a really good result - very happy with that. I have been using a Dexcom One + sensor for the last few months, so I was able to print out the overviews from each week to demonstrate progress with the Rybelsus and very low carb diet plus exercise. It was clear from my data that the Rybelsus made a significant difference on top of the lifestyle changes. I am feeling very supported by the GP practice and had a really productive meeting this morning, so feeling a lot better mentally. Wondering whether they were able to prescribe was really stressful.

I would definitely recommend talking to your GP practice if you are convinced you are on the placebo, and try to see what you think the run in period did for your BG control if you feel you need to state your case. I needed nearly two months of sensor data to be really sure about whether I was on the 14mg or the placebo. I think as the BG numbers get lower it is more obvious that the Rybelsus is bringing the BG numbers down.
 
Fantastic result and hopefully a positive one for some, who have the same worsening effects to their BG as you did by being on a placebo .
 
RAD123 said:
Fantastic result and hopefully a positive one for some, who have the same worsening effects to their BG as you did by being on a placebo .
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Thank you.

To make sure I was right about the placebo, I started the run in tablets I had left when I got to different stages of the run in, and then the start of randomisation - about 4 of the 3mg and around 18 of the 7mg. The 7 day average BG went from 9.2 to 7.2 about a week and a half after starting on the run in tablets again. I was shocked at how much difference there was. Before the randomisation started I was in the low 8s, and had a couple of weeks in the mid 7s. I am now getting daily mean figures in the 6s for the first time after a week on the 7mg tablets. Berfore this the daily mean was in the mid 8s to high 9s , with one day over 10, which was very concerning.

I found the leftover run in tablets really useful in making absolutely sure I was doing the right thing in withdrawing from the trial.
 
I have noticed a big improvement in my dawn phenomenon with the 7mg Rybelsus - I was waking with fasting BG in the 8s and 9s and now I am getting 5.9s regularly. Has anyone else noticed any positive changes in their fasting BG?
 
AllieRainbow said:
I am back from the GP practice, and they have put me on the Rybelsus, so a really good result - very happy with that. I have been using a Dexcom One + sensor for the last few months, so I was able to print out the overviews from each week to demonstrate progress with the Rybelsus and very low carb diet plus exercise. It was clear from my data that the Rybelsus made a significant difference on top of the lifestyle changes. I am feeling very supported by the GP practice and had a really productive meeting this morning, so feeling a lot better mentally. Wondering whether they were able to prescribe was really stressful.

I would definitely recommend talking to your GP practice if you are convinced you are on the placebo, and try to see what you think the run in period did for your BG control if you feel you need to state your case. I needed nearly two months of sensor data to be really sure about whether I was on the 14mg or the placebo. I think as the BG numbers get lower it is more obvious that the Rybelsus is bringing the BG numbers down.
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Oh, that's brilliant! I wonder whether mine will - but there's a way to go before it will affect me, as I'm on the first week of the 7mg tablets.
 
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